“Eve of Destruction” is a protest song written by P. F. Sloan in mid-1964. Several artists have recorded it, but the best-known recording was by Barry McGuire. This recording was made between July 12 and July 15, 1965 and released by Dunhill Records.

~Wikipedia~

I was a teenager, living in Puerto Rico, when this song came out.

I remember all the talk about the Vietnam War and the protests taking place over the country.

Who would think that we’d be now so close again to such a decisive event?

The eastern world it is exploding
Violence flarin’, bullets loadin’
You’re old enough to kill but not for votin’
You don’t believe in war but whats that gun you’re totin’?
And even the Jordan River has bodies floatin’

But you tell me
Over and over and over again my friend
Ah, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve of destruction

Don’t you understand what I’m tryin’ to sayCan’t you feel the fears I’m feelin’ today?If the button is pushed, there’s no runnin’ awayThere’ll be no one to save with the world in a graveTake a look around you boy, it’s bound to scare you boy

And you tell me
Over and over and over again my friend
Ah, you don’t believeWe’re on the eve of destruction ….

I do not own rights to the music nor any of the images seen in this video – this slideshow was wholly inspired by President Donald J. Trump who is as much of a criminal as Clinton, or Bush Sr or Bush Jr., or most other politicians usually are.

Not the usual theme or topic “to start the day”. Yet I haven’t been able to shake off this feeling of apprehension …. “something is going to happen thing”.

It all started as I read a post about the Indiana “Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993“. I read different reactions from the public, other Facebook users and plenty more op-eds about this topic.

One of the Facebook users made a comment about this song. I’m very familiar with it and revisited it this morning.

It’s sad to think that we could be very close to this day.

There is so much hatred, so much destruction, so much discrimination, so much negativity present on our Earth ….. what would be the solution?? Any thoughts?

Sometimes it seems that we’ve crossed the “point of no return”!!

“Eve of Destruction” is a protest song written by P. F. Sloan in 1965. Several artists have recorded it, but the best-known recording was by Barry McGuire.

This recording was made between July 12 and July 15, 1965 and released by Dunhill Records. The accompanying musicians were top-tier LA session players: P. F. Sloan on guitar, Hal Blaine (of Phil Spector’s “Wrecking Crew”) on drums, and Larry Knechtel on bass. The vocal track was thrown on as a rough mix and was not intended to be the final version, but a copy of the recording “leaked” out to a DJ, who began playing it. The song was an instant hit and as a result the more polished vocal track that was at first envisioned was never recorded.

McGuire’s single hit #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and #3 on the UK Singles Chart in September 1965.

The eastern world, it is exploding
Violence flarin’, bullets loadin’
You’re old enough to kill, but not for votin’
You don’t believe in war, but what’s that gun you’re totin’
And even the Jordan River has bodies floatin’

But you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve
of destrction.

Don’t you understand what I’m tryin’ to say
Can’t you feel the fears I’m feelin’ today?
If the button is pushed, there’s no runnin’ away
There’ll be no one to save, with the world in a grave
[Take a look around ya boy, it’s bound to scare ya boy]

And you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve
of destruction.

Yeah, my blood’s so mad feels like coagulatin’
I’m sitting here just contemplatin’
I can’t twist the truth, it knows no regulation.
Handful of senators don’t pass legislation
And marches alone can’t bring integration
When human respect is disintegratin’
This whole crazy world is just too frustratin’

And you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve
of destruction.

Think of all the hate there is in Red China
Then take a look around to Selma, Alabama
You may leave here for 4 days in space
But when you return, it’s the same old place
The poundin’ of the drums, the pride and disgrace
You can bury your dead, but don’t leave a trace
Hate your next-door neighbor, but don’t forget to say grace
And, tell me over and over and over and over again, my friend

You don’t believe
We’re on the eve
Of destruction
Mm, no no, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve
of destruction.

~~GALLERY~~

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~~Eve of Destruction~~

~~Uploaded on Jun 22, 2008~~

This song was written and published 50 years ago. The initial pictures show the happenings of times when it was released. As the pictures change, you see different events, government officials, presidents, senators …. wondering: What has changed during these 50 years?

People movin’ out People movin’ inWhy, because of the color of their skinRun, run, run, but you sho’ can’t hideAn eye for an eyeA tooth for a toothVote for me, and I’ll set you free

Air pollution, revolution, gun control,Sound of soulShootin’ rockets to the moonKids growin’ up too soonPoliticians say more taxes willSolve everythingAnd the band played on ….

Fear in the air, tension everywhereUnemployment rising fast, The Beatles’ new record’s a gasAnd the only safe place to live isOn an Indian reservation ….

And the band played onEve of destruction, tax deductionCity inspectors, bill collectorsMod clothes in demand,Population out of handSuicide, too many bills, hippies movin’ To the hillsPeople all over the world, are shoutin’End the warAnd the band played on.

Copyright 1970 Jobete Music Company, Inc.

This was the general feeling in 1970 …. where did take the fork in the road which brought us here?

At the end of the day, we need a “time out”. As we feel the pressure of our reality, we need to recharge. We need the energy to go at it again tomorrow and many tomorrows to come. In the meantime, we need soothing inner peace.

I don’t mean to say forget, hide and remain inactive. I don’t propose to ignore what lies ahead of all of us. I mean that we can’t give what we don’t have. To be able to tackle what awaits us, we need to gather ourselves, to gain momentum and fuel our spirits for this daunting task. There’s a lot to unravel, a lot to undo, a lot to rebuild.

I do not believe that we can continue along this pathway much longer.

We need to retreat, recharge and act. We need soothing for our weary, confused and tired souls.

#TogetherAgainstAntisemitis ….

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Horty

I'm originally from Puerto Rico. I was born in Santurce and raised in Rio Piedras. I currently live in Florida - since 1999. I have a doctorate degree in Medicine; completed in 1976. My Internal Medicine specialty was completed in 1979. Worked for Puerto Rico's health system until 1985. At this time, I'm happily retired after working for the federal government for almost 28yrs. I also worked for the government of Puerto Rico from 1979 through 1985 .... for a total of almost 40 years as a physician. I want to offer any knowledge that I have to anyone "out there" who is interested. My views are liberal in almost every sense. My knowledge is "eclectic" - a bit of everything. Music and reading are my passion. Blogging has also become a very interesting endeavor. Metaphysical topics attract me. I'm interested in news - reporting human issues like injustice, discrimination and abuse - the "wrongly" affected. My intention is to bring this knowledge to an understandable level and to help anyone in need. I'm open to questions and will answer them to the best of my ability. Currently working on an enterprise whose main mission will be to bring peoples of all walks of life together. To be one .... since we ALL are ONE!! The future looks bright and promising!!!